This is a good one. Swan crow etc in the midst of human beings. Being sympathetic is good , provided when your wings are cut off by a sword , you will be willing to die even; those kinds of people are a handful. However, MISPLACED SYMPATHY is dangerous. A punishment may enrage many to change into violent reciprocations. But once bitten will always be twice shy. There will be a fear of indictments again as an established crime-committer. Jean wal Jean might be a good episode but not good in the maintenance of civil society. KR IRS 26 1 24
On Fri, 26 Jan 2024 at 19:18, Chittanandam V R <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Received from Shri Sitendra Kumar > > *The swans and crows of the world* > > *Priya S Tandon* > > > Sitendra Kumar > *The swans and crows of the world* > > Priya S Tandon > > *BACK in the 1970s, my father-in-law was serving as a minister in the > Punjab government. Once, a peon in his office misbehaved grossly. My > husband told his father to dismiss the employee. However, my father-in-law > chose to counsel the erring peon. He said: ‘The ink in my pen has the > strength to ruin this boy’s career. But I would prefer to give him a chance > to mend his ways. My pen can be used for better things.’* > *I got to know about this episode when an octogenarian friend of my late > father-in-law came over for dinner. He told us the story of a prince who > was going on horseback to another province. The sweltering heat made him > feel tired. He halted and lay down to take a nap under a tree. The sun’s > rays, beating down on his face through the branches, irritated him. Just > then, a swan landed on a branch above his head and spread out its wings. > The swan’s wings shielded the prince from the sunlight. He smiled in > appreciation at his newly found guardian angel and dozed off. A few minutes > later, a crow came by and saw the swan protecting the prince from the sun. > The crow sat on the branch just under the swan and pooped. The droppings > fell on the prince’s face. He woke up startled and disgusted, spitting out > the muck that was splattered on his moustaches and lips. The prince looked > up, saw the swan and in a fit of rage, lashed out at it with his sword. He > chopped off its outstretched wings. The swan fell off the tree, writhing in > pain, while the scheming crow laughed. Seeing the crow laughing wickedly, > the prince realised what had transpired, but it was too late to undo the > misdeed.* > > *After finishing the story, our visitor smiled and said: ‘Some people > protect us with wings outstretched, not because it’s their duty to do so > but just because they know that it’s the right thing to do. Your dad was > like that.’ My husband remarked: ‘Yes, it’s not easy to be a swan. > Moreover, the intentions of those around us are difficult to gauge.’* > *I was reminded of what Sri Sathya Sai Baba said: ‘Duty without love is > deplorable, duty with love is desirable, love without duty is divine.’ > There are still some swans in this world, even though there are plenty of > crows that make trouble and celebrate over the rubble.* > *And yes, the pen is mightier than the sword. It should be used to write > what is right. As Lord Byron said: ‘A drop of ink may make a million > think.’* > - Priya S Tandon > **************************************** > Chittanandam > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZoqn8-cB%2B5bnLo7UkCw7meXC8sgWo1vxpM7EH8jZU7L6PA%40mail.gmail.com.
